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Rep. Dan Maffei cites David Renz murder case as he requests more money for probation oversight

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U.S. Rep. Dan Maffei, D-Syracuse, asked a House Appropriations subcommittee to increase funding for the Administrative Office of the U.S. Courts. He says the courts need more money to oversee the federal probation system and eliminate flaws exposed in the David Renz murder case. Maffei is shown reading to young people at the White Branch Library on Butternut Street in Syracuse June 21, 2013, to celebrate Summer Learning Day.
(Lauren Long | llong@syracuse.com)

WASHINGTON, D.C. -- U.S. Rep. Dan Maffei, citing the David Renz murder case in Central New York, has asked a House Appropriations subcommittee to increase its funding for federal court administrators who oversee the U.S. Probation and Pretrial Services System.

Maffei, D-Syracuse, said the probation system failed in the case of Renz, of Cicero, who managed to tamper with an electronic ankle bracelet monitoring system at least 46 times while awaiting trial on child pornography charges.

Renz pleaded guilty last year to murdering Liverpool school librarian Lori Bresnahan, 47, and raping a 10-year-old girl on March 14, 2013, near Great Northern Mall in Clay after he disabled the electronic monitoring device attached to his ankle.

Maffei told the House subcommittee Tuesday night that the Administrative Office of the U.S. Courts needs more resources to increase its oversight of federal probation offices and prevent similar cases from happening in the future.

The Judiciary has requested a 3.6 percent increase, to $4.8 billion, in the budget for the federal court system for fiscal 2015.

"The AO is continuing to use their funding to backfill cuts they have had to make in previous years," Maffei told the committee. "We cannot allow funding issues to hamper efforts to prevent cases like this from happening again. And to be clear, this has happened again, around the country. I ask that the committee take note of this serious problem and ensure that the Administrative Office gets the funding it needs to enact real reform to protect our communities."

Maffei's effort is the latest in a series of attempts that he and U.S. Sen. Charles Schumer, D-N.Y., have made to pass legislation and focus federal attention on the issues raised by the Renz case.

Maffei and Schumer requested House and Senate hearings on the matter, but those efforts have stalled. In addition, Maffei introduced a bill in December to reform the federal probation system and eliminate flaws exposed in the Renz case. That bill has not advanced out of committee.